Caskets have been used for decades for the final disposal of human remains, whether by burial, cremation, or otherwise. The casket itself includes a box for holding the remains of the deceased person, with the box typically having four sides, a bottom, and a top or lid. The casket conventionally includes a top framing strip and a bottom framing strip each extending outward from each of the plurality of sides and defining a side recess therebetween. The top and bottom framing strips provide both strength and rigidity to the casket box, and also create a desired aesthetic appearance. Caskets also conventionally include an interior fabric lining such that most if not all of the interior surfaces of the casket box are covered.
The casket box may be formed from various suitable materials, and commonly is fabricated from wood, or a combination of an interior wooden frame and an exterior metal covering. Regardless of the material used to construct the casket box, a continuing problem involving the manufacture of the casket concerns the appearance of the right-angle corners where two sides mate. For various reasons, a visible corner seam may be aesthetically undesirable when the casket box is fabricated from wood. When the casket box comprises a wooden frame with a metal covering, it is common to bend one side relative to the other to form the right-angle corner and thus avoid a seam. In this case, however, the metal bending process commonly results in some metal stretching or other damage at or closely adjacent the right-angle corners thereby producing undesirable marring to the exterior appearance of the finished casket.
In an effort to overcome the above problems and to add to the attractiveness and appearance of the casket, it has been common to provide right-angle corner pieces which extend between the upper and lower framing strips, thereby covering the corners of the casket. Each corner piece may be glued or nailed to a respective one of the four casket box corners. Gluing the corner piece to the casket walls is messy, and glue drips may damage the exterior appearance of the casket. Nailing the corner piece to the casket walls results in a visible nail head which is aesthetically undesirable, and attempts to cover the nail head frequently are not highly reliable and satisfactory. In some applications, the purpose of the right angle corner piece is achieved by securing an applique to an end of each side of the casket box between the upper and lower framing strips. The combination of two appliques at each corner, with their edges touching or being closely adjacent, thus forms substantially the same appearance as a corner piece. These corner pieces and appliques are commonly provided with a desired marking on the exterior surface thereof, so that the corner pieces or appliques both cover the otherwise exposed casket sides at the corners of the casket box and enhance the beauty and aesthetic appearance of the casket.
The prior art thus includes a casket with appliques each extending between the top and bottom framing strips, with two adjoining appliques at each end of each of the four casket sides effectively forming a corner covering. In prior art applications, each applique preferably had a substantially planar back surface which engaged the exposed planar surface of a box side between the top and bottom framing strips. Both the top edge, bottom edge, left-side and right-side of each applique may have any desired contour, such as those used in edge moldings. As previously noted, the front planar surface of each applique is exposed and is commonly provided with a desired design, such as folded hands, a cross, flowers, etc.
In recent years, it has become increasingly common for the funeral home operator rather than the casket manufacturer to attach the corner pieces or appliques to the corners of the casket box. The funeral home operator may thus keep in inventory a supply of appliques with popular exterior designs thereon. With this technique, a standard casket box may be easily personalized by the funeral home operator securing the corner pieces or appliques which include the desired exterior design selected by the family of the deceased. This technique allows the casket to be easily customized since it is relatively easy to apply any desired design or covering to the small appliques. The customized appliques may then be installed by the funeral home operator to the otherwise standard casket.
While there are thus significant advantages to providing the casket with appliques intended to be secured to the box sides by the funeral home operator, this objective has some difficulties. Funeral home operators are not well equipped to utilize specialized equipment or techniques for securing the appliques to the casket sides. While the operation of gluing an applique to a casket side might be considered relatively simple, the time and expense required to perform this operation is a significant drawback to the funeral home operator. Also, it is imperative that the mechanism used to secure the applique to the box side be highly reliable, and that there be little likelihood of an applique coming off the casket box during, for example, handling of the casket by pallbearers.
Prior art appliques include a stud which is threaded to a hole provided in the rear surface of the applique, with the stud being positioned for fitting through an aperture in the side of the casket box. A substantially universal casket box may thus be provided with a hole adjacent the end of each casket side at each of the four corners, with each hole being positioned for receiving a stud connected to a desired applique. Once the family selects the desired applique, the funeral home operator may place the applique against the side of the casket box with the stud extending through a respective hole. The funeral home operator may then briefly lift or remove a portion of the interior casket fabric lining so that the end of the stud is visible within the interior of the casket box. A wing nut may then be threaded to the exposed stud, thereby fixing the applique to the side of the casket. Once the lining is replaced, the applique with the desired configuration has been secured to the casket side. The other seven appliques may each be similarly secured to a casket side, with two appliques effectively forming a corner piece.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved casket is hereinafter disclosed with a preferred mechanism for securely affixing appliques to a casket side, and particularly to each end of a casket side between the top and bottom framing strips. Two adjoining appliques thus effectively form a corner piece which may be easily and reliably attached and, if necessary, detached and replaced with another applique.